My mind raced as I lay flat on the hot sandstone so that I could safely survey the valley below. I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t very far to the bottom, but my eyes suggested otherwise. I quickly crawled back from the edge of the cliff I was perched upon and stood to collect my thoughts. For a moment I was taken aback by the sheer beauty of my surroundings. The sky was a vibrant blue, unblemished by clouds, and uninterrupted until it rested upon the deep green tree line. The grandness of the view distracted my thoughts for only a few seconds, though. I could not stop thinking about what I was being asked to do.
How could I lean back over the edge of the cliff, disregard my better judgment, and jump? I saw no logical reason as to …show more content…
Why would I do something that could cause me pain or embarrassment when I was perfectly content how I was? I was very logical child, probably too much for my own good. I didn’t fit in well with other kids; instead of fearing unfamiliar things, they embraced them. I saw all the risky things that other kids did and looked on with jealousy. I wished I could ignore my instincts and do something new and precarious.
However, I liked being safe and secure in my own little world. Unbeknownst to me, I built an imaginary wall to protect myself from the pain and embarrassment that was liable to come from trying new things. Unfortunately, that wall would begin to define who I was. I started to feel left out of activities, yet I was too afraid to join in. I preferred to watch from the sidelines rather than take the chance of failing and risk being laughed at. I lived complacently inside the walls, and slowly began to think that it was impossible for me to do anything beyond …show more content…
I was not surprised by what Elwood said, though.
Months before, sitting in the dull white social hall of my church, the same declaration was made by my youth pastor. As she expounded on the details of the trip my youth group was preparing to take, I became uneasy. We were going on an adventure trip that included hiking, caving, white water rafting, and of course, repelling. I immediately began calculating ways to get out of the trip, but to no avail. I had no excuse not to go on the trip, and to my dismay, my mother promptly registered me.
In the weeks before the trip, I worried constantly about what I was going to be forced to do. It drove me crazy that my sister, who would join me on the trip, did not seem to worry at all. At the time I did not understand much about repelling - only that it involved hurdling yourself off a cliff. How could she not be concerned? I had never done anything so crazy in my life and had never planned on doing anything like it. But before I wanted, I was standing at the summit of a 100 foot cliff, waiting for my chance to
How could I lean back over the edge of the cliff, disregard my better judgment, and jump? I saw no logical reason as to …show more content…
Why would I do something that could cause me pain or embarrassment when I was perfectly content how I was? I was very logical child, probably too much for my own good. I didn’t fit in well with other kids; instead of fearing unfamiliar things, they embraced them. I saw all the risky things that other kids did and looked on with jealousy. I wished I could ignore my instincts and do something new and precarious.
However, I liked being safe and secure in my own little world. Unbeknownst to me, I built an imaginary wall to protect myself from the pain and embarrassment that was liable to come from trying new things. Unfortunately, that wall would begin to define who I was. I started to feel left out of activities, yet I was too afraid to join in. I preferred to watch from the sidelines rather than take the chance of failing and risk being laughed at. I lived complacently inside the walls, and slowly began to think that it was impossible for me to do anything beyond …show more content…
I was not surprised by what Elwood said, though.
Months before, sitting in the dull white social hall of my church, the same declaration was made by my youth pastor. As she expounded on the details of the trip my youth group was preparing to take, I became uneasy. We were going on an adventure trip that included hiking, caving, white water rafting, and of course, repelling. I immediately began calculating ways to get out of the trip, but to no avail. I had no excuse not to go on the trip, and to my dismay, my mother promptly registered me.
In the weeks before the trip, I worried constantly about what I was going to be forced to do. It drove me crazy that my sister, who would join me on the trip, did not seem to worry at all. At the time I did not understand much about repelling - only that it involved hurdling yourself off a cliff. How could she not be concerned? I had never done anything so crazy in my life and had never planned on doing anything like it. But before I wanted, I was standing at the summit of a 100 foot cliff, waiting for my chance to